Rookie symposium dance card filling up

Posted by Mike Florio on June 13, 2012, 4:49 PM EST

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When the first-year players convene in Canton later this month for the rookie symposium, they’ll be hearing from one current player, three former players, and the guy ultimately in charge of the place where the best players end up.

As MDS pointed out earlier, Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, who legitimately has turned his life around after his prior Pacman days, will speak to the incoming athletes. According to the league office, the others scheduled to speak at the event include Troy Vincent (pictured), who serves as the league vice president of player engagement, former players Ross Tucker and LeCharles Bentley, and Pro Football Hall of Fame President Steve Perry (not that one . . . I think).

Ross presumably will be sharing with the kids something he learned this week: that schadenfreude isn’t German for “Skittles”.

Also speaking to the players will be experts in various topics that will be covered.

Due to the lockout, there was no rookie symposium in 2011. We’ll never know whether that would have helped Lions running back Mikel Leshoure, a second-round pick last year, avoid a two-game suspension.

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Totally the fault of no rookie symposium. Where else would he have learned not to get weed?

Sure. But these are also young men who have come into a lot of money VERY quickly. Some of them have come from very poor families. Bad things can happen when that kind of money is put into the hands of people that have never had it or known anyone with money like it. Not to mention all the old buddies and new family members that will pop up. They need this guidance in order to resist some of these bad influences. Does the symposium always help? No a knuckle head is a knuckle head but it certainly doesn’t hurt.